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CORNELL UNIVERSITY 

LIBRARIES 

ITHACA. N. Y. 14583 




Charles W. Wason Collection 
on China and the Chinese 



Cornell University Library 
PL 2658.E3G47 



Chinese poetry In English verse 




3 1924 008 867 222 




Cornell University 
Library 



The original of tliis book is in 
tlie Cornell University Library. 

There are no known copyright restrictions in 
the United States on the use of the text. 



http ://www. arch i ve . o rg/detai Is/cu31 924008867222 



4 n 



CHINESE POETRY 



IN ENGLISH VERSE 



' - -- ^ f/ ^ f, 





HERBERT A. GILES 

M.A.; LL.D (Abeid.) 

PROFESSOR OF CHINESE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE 



London Shanghai 

BERNARD QUARITCH KELLY & WALSH, Ld. 

1898 



\aI^u^ 



PRINTED BY E. J. BRILL, LEYDBN (HOLLAND). 



Dear Land of Flowers^ forgive me I — that I took 
These snatches from thy glittering wealth of song^ 

And twisted to the uses of a book 

Strains that to alien harps can n^er belong. 

Thy gems shine purer in their native bed 
Concealed., beyond the pry of vulgar eyes ; 

And there., through labyrinths of language led., 
The patient student grasps the glowing prize. 

Yet many., in their race toward other goals., 

May joy to feel., albeit at second-hand., 
Some far faint heart-throb of poetic souls 

Whose breath makes incense in the Flowery Land. 

H. A. G. 
Cambridge: October tSgS. 



TO A YOUNG GENTLEMAN 

Don't come in, sir, please! 

Don't break my willow-trees! 

Not that that would very much grieve me ; 
But alack-a-day ! what would my parents say? 

And love you as I may, 
I cannot bear to think what that would be. 

Don't cross my wall, sir, please! 
Don't spoil my mulberry-trees! 
Not that that would very much grieve me ; 
But alack-a-day! what would my brothers 

say? 
And love you as I may, 
I cannot bear to think what that would be. 



Keep outside, sir, please ! 

Don't spoil my sandal-trees! 

Not that that would very much grieve me ; 
But alack-a-day ! what the world would say ! 

And love you as I may, 
I cannot bear to think what that would be. 

Odes^ 



TO A MAN 

You seemed a guileless youth enough, 
Offering for silk your woven stuff; ^ 
But silk was not required by you : 
I was the silk you had in view. 
With you I crossed the ford, and while 
We wandered on for many a mile 
I said, "I do not wish delay. 

But friends must fix our wedding-day 

Oh, do not let my words give pain, 
But with the autumn come again." 

And then I used to watch and wait 
To see you passing through the gate; 
And sometimes when I watched in vain, 
My tears would flow like falling rain; 



4 

But when I saw my darling boy, 
I laughed and cried aloud for joy. 
The fortune-tellers, you declared. 
Had all pronounced us duly paired; 
"Then bring a carriage," I replied, 
"And I'll away to be your bride." 

The mulberry-leaf, not yet undone 
By autumn chill, shines in the sun. 
O tender dove, I would advise, 

* 

Beware the fruit that tempts thy eyes ! ^ 
O maiden fair, not yet a spouse, 
List lightly not to lovers' vows! 
A man may do this wrong, and time 
Will fling its shadow o'er his crime; 
A woman who has lost her name 
Is doomed to everlasting shame. 

The mulberry-tree upon the ground 
Now sheds its yellow leaves around. 



5 
Three years have slipped away from me, 
Since first I shared your poverty; 
And now again, alas the day! 
Back through the ford I take my way. 
My heart is still unchanged, but you 
Have uttered words now proved untrue; 
And you have left me to deplore 
A love that can be mine no more. 

For three long years I was your wife, 

And led in truth a toilsome life; 

Early to rise and late to bed. 

Each day alike passed o'er my head. 

I honestly fulfilled my part; 

And you, — well, you have broke my heart. 

The truth my brothers will not know, 

So all the more their gibes will flow. 

I grieve in silence and repine 

That such a wretched fate is mine. 



Ah, hand in hand to face old age! — 
Instead, I turn a bitter page. 
Oh for the river-banks of yore; 
Oh for the much-loved marshy shore; 
The hours of girlhood, with my hair 
Ungathered, as we lingered there. 
The words we spoke, that seemed so true, 
I little thought that I should rue; 
I little thought the vows we swore 
Would some day bind us two no more. 

Odes 



THE CRICKET 

The cricket chirrups in the hall, 

The year is dying fast; 
Now let us hold high festival 
-^^ Ere the days and months be past. 
Yet push not revels to excess 

That our fair fame be marred ; ¥^^f 
Lest pleasures verge to wickedness %1-^ 
Let each be on his guard. 

Odes 



THE HUSBANDMAN'S SONG 

Work, work, — from the rising sun 
Till sunset comes and the day is done 

I plough the sod 

And harrow the clod. 
And meat and drink both come to me. 
So what care I for the powers that be? 

Anon 



YAO'S ADVICE 

With trembling heart and cautious steps 
Walk daily in fear of God 

Though you never trip over a mountain, 
You may often trip over a clod. 

Anon 



lO 



INSCRIPTION ON A WASH-BASIN 

Oh, rather than sink in the world's foul tide 
I would sink in the bottomless main; 

For he who sinks in the world's foul tide 
In noisome depths shall for ever abide, 

But he who sinks in the bottomless main 
May hope to float to the surface again. 

Anon 



1 1 



UNPOPULARITY 

Among birds the phoenix, among fishes 

the leviathan holds the chiefest place; 
Cleaving the crimson clouds. 

the phoenix soars apace, 
With only the blue sky above, 

far into the realms of space; 
But the grandeur of heaven and earth 

is as naught to the hedge-sparrow race. 
And the leviathan rises in one ocean 

to go to rest in a second, 
While the depth of a puddle by a humble 

minnow as the depth of the sea is reckoned. 
And just as with birds and fishes, 

so too it is with man; 



12 

Here soars a phoenix, 

there swims a leviathan. 
Behold the philosopher, full of nervous 

thought, 
with a fame that never grows dim. 
Dwelling complacently alone, — say, 
what can the vulgar herd know of him? 
Sung Vu, 4th cent. B.C. 



13 



NEGLECTED 

Green grows the grass upon the bank, 
The willow-shoots are long and lank; 
A lady in a glistening gown 
Opens the casement and looks down. 
The roses on her cheek blush bright, 
Her rounded arm is dazzling white; 
A singing-girl in early life. 

And now a careless roue's wife 

Ah, if he does not mind his own. 
He'll find some day the bird has flown ! 
Mei Sheng, 2nd cent. B.C. 



1 4 



PARTED 

The red hibiscus and the reed, 
The fragrant flowers of marsh and mead, — 
All these I gather as I stray, 
As though for one now far away. 
I strive to pierce with straining eyes 
The distance that between us lies. 
Alas that hearts which beat as one 
Should thus be parted and undone! 

Mei Sheng 



15 



ON THE DEATH OF HIS FATHER 

I look up, the curtains are there as of yore; 
I look down, and there is the mat on the 

floor •, 
These things I behold, but the man is no 

more. 

To the infinite azure his spirit has flown, 
And I am left friendless, uncared-for, alone, 
Of solace bereft, save to weep and to moan. 

The deer on the hillside caressingly bleat. 
And offer the grass for their young ones 

to eat, 
While birds of the air to their nestlings 

bring meat. 



i6 

But I a poor orphan must ever remain, 
My heart, still so young, overburdened 

with pain 
For him I shall never set eyes on again. 

'Tis a well-worn old saying, which all men 

allow. 
That grief stamps the deepest of lines on 

the brow: 
Alas for my hair, it is silvery now! 

Alas for my father, cut off in his pride! 
Alas that no more I may stand by his side ! 
Oh where were the gods when that great 

hero died? 
Liu mng. Died B.C. 157.'^ 



17 



AMARI ALIQUID 

The autumn blast drives the white scud in 

the sky, 
Leaves fade, and wild geese sweeping south 

meet the eye; 
The scent of late flowers fills the soft air 

above, 
My heart full of thoughts of the lady I love. 
In the river the barges for revel-carouse 
Are lined by white waves which break over 

their bows; 
Their oarsmen keep time to the piping and 

drumming 

Yet joy is as naught 
Alloyed by the thought 
That youth slips away and that old age 

is coming. 
Liu Ch'e, B.C. 156—87!' 



i8 



GONE« 

The sound of rustling silk is stilled, 
With dust the marble courtyard filled; 
No footfalls echo on the floor, 
Fallen leaves in heaps block up the door.... 
For she, my pride, my lovely one is lost. 
And I am left, in hopeless anguish tossed. 

Liu Ch'e 



19 



THE AUTUMN FAN. 

O fair white silk, fresh from the weaver's 

loom, 
Clear as the frost, bright as the winter 

snow — 
See ! friendship fashions out of thee a fan. 
Round as the round moon shines in heaven 

above ; 
At home, abroad, a close companion thou, 
Stirring at every move the grateful gale; 
And yet I fear, ah me! that autumn chills. 
Cooling the dying summer's torrid rage, 
Will see thee laid neglected on the shelf. 
All thought of by gone days, like them 

by-gone. 
The Lady Pan, ist cent. B. C. ^ 



20 



CARPE DIEM 

Man reaches scarce a hundred, yet his tears 
Would fill a lifetime of a thousand years. 
When days are short and night's long hours 

move slow, 
Why not with lamp in search of 

pleasure go? 
This day alone gives sure enjoyment — this! 
Why then await tomorrow's doubtful bliss? 
Fools grudge to spend their wealth while 

life abides. 
And then posterity their thrift derides. 
We cannot hope, like Wang Tzii-ch'^iao ^, 

to rise 
And find a paradise beyond the skies. 

Anon, 1st cent. B.C. 



21 



THE ELIXIR OF LIFE' 

Forth from the eastern gate my steeds I 

drive, 
And lo! a cemetery meets my view; 
Aspens around in wild luxuriance thrive, 
The road is fringed with fir and pine 

and yew. 
Beneath my feet lie the forgotten dead. 

Wrapped in a twilight of eternal gloom ; 
Down by the Yellow Springs ^° their earthy 

bed, 
And everlasting silence is their doom. 
How fast the lights and shadows come 

and go ! 
Like morning dew our fleeting life has 

passed ; 



22 

Man, a poor traveller on earth below, 
Is gone, while brass and stone can still 

outlast. 
Time is inexorable, and in vain 

Against his might the holiest mortal 

strives ; 
Can we then hope this precious boon to 

gain, 
By strange elixirs to prolong our lives?... 
Oh, rather quaff good liquor while we may. 
And dress in silk and satin every day! 
Anon^ 1st cent. B.C. 



23 



A FIRST-BORN 

The wanderer reaches home with joy 
From absence of a year and more; 

Hiis eye seeks a beloved boy — 
His wife lies weeping on the floor. 

They whisper he is gone. The glooms 
Of evening fall; beyond the gate 

A lonely grave in outline looms 

To greet the sire who came too late. 

Forth to the little mound he flings, 
Where wild-flowers bloom on every side . 

His bones are in the Yellow Springs, 
His flesh like dust is scattered wide. 



24 

"O child who never knew thy sire, 
For ever now to be unknown, 

Ere long thy wandering ghost shall tire 
Of flitting friendless and alone. 

"O son, man's greatest earthly boon. 
With thee I bury hopes and fears." 

He bowed his head in grief and soon 
His breast was wet with rolling tears. 

Life's dread uncertainty he knows, 
But oh for this untimely close! 

K^ung Jung^ Died A.D. 208}^ 



25 



AN ABSENT HUSBAND 

floating clouds that swim in heaven 

above 
Bear on your wings these words to him 

I love 

Alas, you float along nor heed my pain, 
And leave me here to love and long in 

vain! 

1 see other dear ones to their homes 

return, 
And for his coming shall not I too yearn? 
Since my lord left — ah me, unhappy 

day! — 
My mirror's dust has not been brushed 

away; 



26 

My heart, like running water, knows no 

peace, 
But bleeds and bleeds forever without 

cease.^'' 
Hsii Kan, 2nd and 3rd cent. A. D. 



27 



THE BROTHERS 

A fine dish of beans had been placed in 

the pot 
With a view to a good mess of pottage, 

all hot. 
The beanstalks, aflame, a fierce heat were 

begetting, 
The beans in the pot were all fuming and 

fretting. 
Yet the beans and the stalks were not 

born to be foes; 
Oh why should these hurry to finish off 

those ? 
Ts'ao Chih, A.D. 192—232^^ 



28 



LOVERS PARTED 

In the Kingdom of Yen 

a young gallant resides, 
In the Kingdom of Chao 

a fair damsel abides; 
No long leagues of wearisome 

road intervene, 
But a chain of steep mountains 

is set in between. 
Ye clouds, on your broad bosoms 

bear me afar, 
The winds for my horses 

made fast to my car! 

Ah, jade lies deep hid 

in the bowels of earth ; 



29 

To the fair epidendrum 

the prairie gives birth; 
And the clouds in the sky, 

they come not at call; 
And the fickle breeze rises, 

alas, but to fall. 
And so I am left 

with my thoughts to repine, 
And think of that loved one 

who ne'er can be mine. 
Fu Mi. 3rd and 4th cent. A.D. 



30 



AFTER PARTING 

Thy chariot and horses 

have gone, and I fret 
And long for the lover 

I ne'er can forget. 

O wanderer, bound 

in far countries to dwell, 
Would I were thy shadow! — 

I'd follow thee well. 

And though clouds and though darkness 

my presence should hide, 

In the bright light of day 

I would stand by thy side! 
Fu Mi 



31 



TRUE PLEASURES 

The bright moon shining overhead, 

The stream beneath the breeze's touch, 

Are pure and perfect joys indeed, — 
But few are they who think them such. 

Anon 



32 

A RECLUSE 

A scholar lives on yonder hill, 

His clothes are rarely whole to view, 
Nine times a month he eats his fill. 
Once in ten years his hat is new. 
~A wretched lot! — and yet the while 
He ever wears a sunny smile. 

Longing tb know what like was he, 
At dawn my steps a path unclosed 

Where dark firs left the passage firee 
And on the eaves the white clouds dozed. 

But he, as spying my intent. 

Seized his guitar and swept the strings ; 
Up flew a crane towards heaven bent, 

And now a startled pheasant springs 

Oh, let me rest with thee until 
The winter winds again blow chill! 

Vao ChHen, A. D. 365 — 42 j 



33 



A PRAYER 

Ye fluttering birds in plumage gay 

That to and fro direct your flight, — 
The Western Mother's ^* court by day, 

The far-off" mountain-peaks at night, — 
Oh, be my messengers and go 

And bear to her these words of mine : 
I ask for nothing here below 

Save length of years and depth of wine ! 

T^ao Cfiien 



34 



SIC TRANSIT 

A tower a hundred feet erect 

Looks round upon the scene which girds ; 
'Tis here at eve the clouds collect, 

At dawn a trysting-place for birds. 

Here hills and streams the observer hold, 
Or boundless prairie mocks the eyes: 

Some famous warriors of old 

Made this their bloody battle-prize. 

The centuries of time roll on, 
And I, a traveller, passing there, 

Mark firs and cypresses all gone. 

And grave-mounds, high and low, laid 

bare. 



35 

The ruined tombs uncared-for stand — 
Where do their wandering spirits hide? - 

Oh, glory makes us great and grand, 
And yet it has its seamy side. 

T^ao ChHen 



36 



ALONE 

What do these halls of jasper mean, 

and shining floor, 
Where tapestries of satin screen 

window and door? 
A lady on a lonely seat, 

embroidering 
Fair flowers which seem to smell as sweet 

as buds in spring. 
Swallows flit past, a zephyr shakes 

the plum-blooms down-, 
She draws the blind, a goblet takes 

her thoughts to drown. 
And now she sits in tears, or hums, 

nursing her grief 



37 

That in her life joy rarely comes 

to bring relief 

Oh for the humble turtle's flight, 
my mate and I; 

Not the lone crane far out of sight 
beyond the sky! 
Pao Chao, died A.D. 466 



38 



FORGOTTEN 

To learn the art of fencing, forth 
I wandered, with my master, north. 
I saw an ancient battle-plain 
Engirt by hills which still remain; 
And while I gazed upon the scene, 
A wide expanse of sky and green, 
I thought how like a summer's day 
Each warrior's name has passed away. 

Chiang Yen^ 
A.D. 443—504 



39 



ANTICIPATION '' 

If home, with the wild geese of autumn, 

we're going. 

Our hearts will be off ere the spring flowers 

are blowing. 
Anon, 6th cent. A.D. 



40 



ULTIMATE CAUSES 

Trees grow, not alike, 

by the mound and the moat; 
Birds sing in the forest 

with varying note; 
Of the fish in the river 

some dive and some float. 
The mountains rise high 

and the waters sink low. 
But the why and the wherefore 

we never can know. 

Hsiao Yen 
A.D. 464— S49 



41 



IN ABSENCE 

At eve, I stand upon the bank and gaze; 
Restless, I know not where my bark may 

rest; 
I see the forest through the autumn haze; 

I see the hills of radiance all divest; 
I see the herdsman homing o'er the lea; 
I see the huntsman's laden horse 

return 

Alas, no loved one comes to beckon me ! — 
I sit and croon the thoughts that in me 

burn. 

Wang Chi^ 6th and 
yth cent. A.D. 



42 



ICHABOD 

Near these islands a palace was built by 

a prince, 
But its music and song have departed long 

since; 
The hill-mists of morning sweep down on 

the halls, 
At night the red curtains lie furled on the 

walls. 
The clouds o'er the water their shadows 

still cast. 
Things change like the stars: how few 

autumns have passed 
And yet where is that prince? Where is he? 

— No reply. 
Save the plash of the stream rolling 

ceaselessly by. 

WangPo, A. D. 648—676 



43 



REGRETS 

My eyes saw not the men of old; 
And now their age away has rolled 
I weep — to think I shall not see 
The heroes of posterity! 

Ch^en Tzu-ang, 
A. D. 656— 6g8. 



44 



AGAINST IDOLS 

On Self the Prophet^® never rests his eye, 
His to relieve the doom of humankind; 

No fairy palaces beyond the sky, 

Rewards to come, are present to his mind. 



And I have heard the faith by Buddha taught 
Lauded as pure and free from earthly 

taint ; 
Why then these carved and graven idols, 

fraught 
With gold and silver, gems, and jade, 

and paint? 



45 

The heavens that roof this earth, mountain 

and dale, 
All that is great and grand shall pass 

away; 
And if the art of gods may not prevail. 
Shall man's poor handiwork escape decay? 

Fools that ye are! In this ignoble light 
The true faith fades and passes out of sight. 

C}i&n Tzu-ang 



46 



THE RETURN 

Bowed down with age I seek my native place, 
Unchanged my speech, my hair is silvered 

now; 
My very children do not know my face, 
But smiling ask, "O stranger, whence art 

thou?" 

Ho Chih-chang^ born 
A. D. 6sg 



47 



A VISION 

The dust of the morn had been laid by a 

shower, 
And the trees by the bridge were all covered 

with flower, 
When a white palfrey passed with a saddle 

of gold. 
And a damsel as fair as the fairest of old. 

But she veiled so discreetly her charms from 

my eyes 
That the boy who was with her quite felt 

for my sighs ; 
And although not a light-o'-love reckoned, 

I deem. 
It was hard that this vision should pass like 

a dream. 
Sung Chih-wen^ died 
A. D. yio 



48 



BY MOONLIGHT 

Over the sea the round moon rises bright, 
And floods the horizon with its silver light. 
In absence lovers grieve that nights should be, 
But all the livelong night I think of thee. 
I blow my lamp out to enjoy this rest, 
And shake the gathering dewdrop from 

my vest. 
Alas ! I cannot share with thee these beams, 
So lay me down to seek thee in my dreams. 

Chang Chiu-ling, 
A. D. dfs — 740 



49 



WAITING 

The sun has sunk behind the western hill, 
And darkness glides across the vale below; 
Between the firs the moon shines cold and 

chill, 
No breezes whisper to the streamlet's flow. 
Belated woodsmen homeward hurry past, 

Birds seek their evening refuge in the tree : 
O my beloved, wilt thou come at last? 
With lute, among the flowers, I wait for 

thee. 
Meng Hao-jan^ 
A. D. 68 g — 74.0 



50 



IN DREAMLAND 

The sun has set behind the western slope, 
The eastern moon lies mirrored in the 

pool; 
With streaming hair my balcony I ope, 
And stretch my limbs out to enjoy the 

cool. 
Loaded with lotus-scent the breeze sweeps by. 
Clear dripping drops from tall bamboos 

I hear, 
I gaze upon my idle lute and sigh: 
Alas no sympathetic soul is near! 
And so I doze, the while before mine eyes 
Dear friends of other days in dream-clad 

forms arise. 
Meng Hao-jan 



51 



AT ANCHOR 

I steer my boat to anchor 

by the mist-clad river eyot, 
And mourn the dying day that brings me 

nearer to my fate. 
Across the woodland wild I see 

the sky lean on the trees, 
While close to hand the mirrored moon 

floats on the shining seas. 
Ming Hao-jan 



52 



OUT OF OFFICE 

For my betters — my office resigned — 

I make way, 
And seek with the wine-cup to shorten the 

day. 
You ask for the friends who once thronged 

in my hall: 
Alas! with my place they have gone, one 

and all. 

Li Shih-chih^ died 
A. D. 747 



53 



OVERLOOKED 

Beneath the bamboo grove, alone, 
I seize my lute and sit and croon; 

No ear to hear me, save mine own; 
No eye to see me, save the moon. 

Wang Wei 
A. D. 6gg—75g 



54 



GOODBYE 

We parted at the gorge and cried "Good 

cheer!" 
The sun was setting as I closed my door; 
Methought, the spring will come again next 

year, 
But he may come no more. ■ 

Wang Wei 



55 



A RENCONTRE 

Sir, from my dear old home you come, 
And all its glories you can name; 

Oh tell me, — has the winter-plum 
Yet blossomed o'er the window-frame? 

Wang Wei 



56 



GOODBYE TO MENG HAO-JAN 

Dismounted, o'er wine we had said our last 

say; 
Then I whisper, "Dear friend, tell me whither 

away." 
"Alas!" he replied, "I am sick of life's ills 
"And I long for repose on the slumbering 

hills. 
" But oh seek not to pierce where my footsteps 

may stray: 
"The white clouds will soothe me for ever 

and ay." 
Wang Wei 



57 



HOME LONGINGS 

Here a mortal once sailed up to heaven on 

a crane, 
And the Yellow-Crane Kiosque will for ever 

remain ; " 
But the bird flew away and will come back 

no more, 
Though the white clouds are there as the 

white clouds of yore. 

Away to the east lie fair forests of trees. 
From the flowers on the west comes a scent- 
laden breeze, 
Yet my eyes daily turn to their far-away 

home. 
Beyond the broad River, its waves, and 

its foam. 

Ts^ui Hao 
8th cent. A. D. 



58 



TO A FIREFLY i« 

Rain cannot quench thy lantern's light, 
Wind makes it shine more brightly bright; 
Oh why not fly to heaven afar, 
And twinkle near the moon — a star? 

Li Po 
A. D. JOS — 7<55. 



59 



AT PARTING 

The river rolls carystal as clear as the sky, 
To blend far away with the blue waves 

of ocean ; 
Man alone, when the hour of departure is 

nigh, 
With the wine cup can soothe his emotion. 
The birds of the valley sing loud in the sun, 
Where the gibbons their vigils will shortly 

be keeping; 
I thought that with tears I had long ago 

done. 
But now I shall never cease weeping. 

Li Po 



6o 



NIGHT THOUGHTS 

I wake, and moonbeams play around my 

bed, 
Glittering like hoar-frost to my wondering 

eyes; 
Up towards the glorious moon I raise my 

head, 
Then lay me down, — and thoughts of 

home arise. 
Li Po 



6i 



COMPANIONS 

The birds have all flown to their roost in 

the tree, 
The last cloud has just floated lazily by ; 
But we never tire of each other, not we. 
As we sit there together, — the moun- 
tains and I. 
Li Po 



62 



FROM A BELVIDERE 

With yellow leaves the hill is strown, 
A young wife gazes o'er the scene, 

The sky with grey clouds overthrown, 
While autumn swoops upon the green. 

See, Tartar troops mass on the plain 4 
Homeward our envoy hurries on ; 

When will her lord come back again?... 
To find her youth and beauty gone! 

Li Po 



63 



FOR HER HUSBAND 

Homeward, at dusk, the clanging rookery 
wings its eager flight; 
Then, chattering on the branches, all 

are pairing for the night. 
Plying her busy loom, a high-born 

dame is sitting near, 
And through the silken window-screen 

their voices strike her ear. 
She stops, and thinks of the absent spouse 
she may never see again; 
And late in the lonely hours of night 

her tears flow down like rain. 
Li Po 



64 



"THE BEST OF LIFE IS BUT..." 

What is life after all but a dream? 

And why should such pother be made? 
Better far to be tipsy, I deem, 

And doze all day long in the shade. 

When I wake and look out on the lawn, 
I hear midst the flowers a bird sing; 

I ask, "Is it evening or dawn?" 

The mango-bird whistles, "'Tis spring." 

Overpower'd with the beautiful sight, 

Another full goblet I pour. 
And would sing till the moon rises bright — 

But soon I'm as drunk as before. 

Li Po 



65 



FAREWELL BY THE RIVER 

The breeze blows the willow-scent in from 

the dell, 
While Phyllis with bumpers would fain 

cheer us up ; 
Dear friends press around me to bid me 

farewell : 
Goodbye ! and goodbye ! — and yet just 

one more cup .... 
I whisper, Thou'lt see this great stream 

flow away 
Ere I cease to love as I love thee today! 

Li Po 



66 



GONE 

At the Yello-vSr-Crane pagoda", where we 

stopped to bid adieu, 
The mists and flowers of April seemed 

to wish good speed to you. 
At the Emerald Isle, your lessening sail had 

vanished from my eye. 
And left me with the River, rolling onward 

to the sky. 

Li Po 



67 



NO INSPIRATION 

The autumn breeze is blowing, 
The autumn moon is glowing, 
The falling leaves collect but to disperse. 
The parson-crow flies here and there 

with ever restless feet; 
I think of you and wonder much 

when you and I shall meet 

Alas tonight I cannot pour my feelings 
forth in verse! 

Li Po 



68 



GENERAL HSIEH AN^" 

I anchor at the Newchew hill, 
The autumn sky serene and still, 
And watch the moon her crescent fill, 
And vainly think on him by whom 

this shore was made renowned. 
Though mine is no ungraceful lay, 
He cannot hear the words I say. 

And I must sail at break of day 

And all this while the maple leaves 

are fluttering to the ground. 

Li Po 



69 



A SNAP-SHOT 

A tortoise I see on a lotus-flower resting: 
A bird 'mid the reeds and the rushes is 

nesting ; 
A light skiff propelled by some boatman's 

fair daughter, 
Whose song dies away o'er the fast-flowing 

water. 

Li Po 



70 



A FAREWELL 

Where blue hills cross the northern sky, 

Beyond the moat which girds the town, 
'Twas there we stopped to say Goodbye! 

And one white sail alone dropped down. 
Your heart was full of wandering thought; 

For me, — my sun had set indeed; 
To wave a last adieu we sought, 

Voiced for us by each whinnying steed! 

Li Po 



71 

BOYHOOD FANCIES ^^ 

In days gone by the moon appeared 

to my still boyish eyes 
Some bright jade plate or mirror from 

the palace of the skies. 
I used to see the Old Man's legs 

and Cassias fair as gods can make them, 
I saw the White Hare pounding drugs, 

and wondered who was there to take them. 
Ah, how I watched the eclipsing Toad, 

and marked the ravages it made, 
And longed for him who slew the suns 

and all the angels' fears allayed. 
Then when the days of waning came, 

and scarce a silver streak remained, 
I wept to lose my favourite thus, 

and cruel grief my eyelids stained. 

Li Po 



72 



FROM THE PALACE 

Cold dews of night the terrace crown, 
And soak my stockings and my gown; 

I'll step behind 

The crystal blind, 
And watch the autumn moon sink down. 

Li Po 



73 



THE POET 

You ask what my soul does away in the sky, 
I inwardly smile but I cannot reply; 
Like the peach-blossom carried away by the 

stream, 
I soar to a world of which you cannot dream. 

Li Po 



74 



TEARS 

A fair girl draws the blind aside 
And sadly sits with drooping head; 

I see her burning tear-drops glide 

But know not why those tears are shed. 

Li Po 



75 



A FAVOURITE ^^ 
Oh the joy of youth spent in a gold-fretted 

In the Crape-flower Pavilion, the fairest of 

w all, 

My tresses for headdress with gay garlands 

>r| girt, ; 

Carnations arranged o'er my jacket and skirt! 
Then to wander away in the soft-scented air, 
And return by the side of his Majesty's 

chair 

But the dance and the song will be o'er 

by and by, 
And we shall dislimn like the rack in the 

'-' I '% sky. 
Li Po 



76 



IN EXILE 



33 



I drink deep draughts of Lan-ling wine 

fragrant with borage made, 
The liquid amber mantling up 

in cups of costly jade. 
My host insists on making me ^ 

as drunk as any sot, 
Until I'm quite oblivious 

of the exile's wretched lot. 

Li Po 



11 



IN A MIRROR 

My whitening hair would make a long long 
rope, 
Yet could not fathom all my depth of woe •, 
Though how it comes within a mirror's scope 
To sprinkle autumn frosts, I do not know. 

Li Po 



78 



LAST WORDS ^* 

An arbour of flowers 

and a kettle of wine: 
Alas! in the bowers 

no companion is mine. 
Then the moon sheds her rays 

on my goblet and me, 
And my shadow betrays 

we're a party of three! 

Though the moon cannot swallow 

her share of the grog, 
And my shadow must follow 

wherever I jog, — 
Yet their friendship I'll borrow 

and gaily carouse, 
And laugh away sorrow 

while spring-time allows. 



79 

See the moon, — how she glances 

response to my song; 
See my shadow, — it dances 

so lightly along! 
While sober I feel, 

you are both my good friends; 
When drunken I reel, 

our companionship ends. 
But we'll soon have a greeting 

without a goodbye. 
At our next merry meeting 

away in the sky. 

Li Po 



8o 



IN ABSENCE 

White gleam the gulls across the darkling 

tide, 
On the green hills the red flowers seem 

to burn; 

Alas ! I see another spring has died 

When will it come — the day of my 

return ? 

Tu Fu 
A. D. yi2 — jjo. 



8i 



WINE 

The setting sun shines low upon my door 
Ere dusk enwraps the river fringed with 

spring ; 
Sweet perfumes rise from gardens by the 

shore, 
And smoke, where crews their boats to 

anchor bring. 
Now twittering birds are roosting in the 

bower. 

And flying insects fill the air around... 

O wine, who gave to thee thy subtle 

power? — 
A thousand cares in one small goblet 

drowned ! 
Tu Fu 

6 



82 



TO HIS BROTHER 

The evening drum has emptied every street, 
One autumn goose screams on its frontier 

flight, 
The crystal dew is glittering at my feet. 
The moon sheds, as of old, her silvery light. 

The brothers, — ah, where are they? 

Scattered each; 
No home whence one might learn the 

other's harms. 
Letters have oft miscarried : shall they reach 
Now when the land rings with the clash 

of arms? 
Tu Fu 



83 



HOME JOYS 

My home is girdled by a limpid stream, 
And there in summer days life's 

movements pause, 
Save where some swallow flits from beam 

to beam, 
And the wild sea-gull near and nearer 

draws. 

The goodwife rules a paper board for chess ; 
The children beat a fish-hook out of wire; 
My ailments call for physic more or less. 
What else should this poor frame of 

mine require? 
Tu Fu 



84 



SSIJ-MA HSIANG-JU^^ 

'Twas here, from sickness sore oppressed, 
He found relief on Wen-chiin's breast; 
'Twas here the vulgar tavern lay 
On mountain cloud-capped night and day. 
And still mid flowers and leaves I trace 
Her fluttering robe, her tender face; 
But ah! the phoenix calls in vain. 
Such mate shall not be seen again. 

Tu Fu 



85 



THE HERMIT 

Alone I wandered o'er the hills 

to seek the hermit's den, 
While sounds of chopping rang around 

the forest's leafy glen. 
I passed on ice across the brook 

which had not ceased to freeze, 
As the slanting rays of afternoon 

shot sparkling through the trees. 

I found he did not joy to gloat 

o'er fetid wealth by night. 
But far from taint, to watch the deer 

in the golden morning light 

My mind was clear at coming; 

but now I've lost my guide, 
And rudderless my little bark 

is drifting with the tide ! ^^ 
Tu Fu 



86 



SUPERSEDED ^7 hN 

Alas for the lonely plant that grows 
beside the river bed, 
While the mango-bird screams loud and long 
14, from the tall tree overhead ! 
Full with the freshets of the spring, 

% ^ the torrenf rushes on ; 

The ferry-boat swings idly, for 

the ferryman is gone. 

Tu Fu 



87 



SOLO CHI SEGUE CIO CHE PIACE 
E SAGGIO 

A petal falls! — the spring begins to fail, 
And my heart saddens with the growing 

gale. 
Come then, ere autumn spoils bestrew the 

ground, 
Do not forget to pass the wine-cup round. 
Kingfishers build where man once laughed 

elate, 
And now stone dragons guard his graveyard 

gate! 
Who follows pleasure, he alone is wise; 
Why waste our life in deeds of high emprise? 

Tu Fu 



88 



DUM RES ET AETAS 

From the court every eve to the pawnshop 

I pass, 
To come back from the river the drunkest 

of men; 
As often as not I'm in debt for my glass ; — 
Well, few of us live to be threescore 

and ten. 

The butterfly flutters from flower to flower. 

The dragon-fly sips and springs lightly 

away. 

Each creature is merry its brief little hour. 

So let us enjoy our short life while we 

may. 
Tu .Fu 



89 



A PICNIC 

The sun is setting as we loose the boat, 
And lightly o'er the breeze-swept waters 

float. 
We seek a corner where the bamboo grows, 
And fragrant lilies offer cool repose. 
Here well-iced draughts of wine the men 

prepare. 

With lotus shredded fine by fingers fair 

But now a black cloud gathering in the sky 
Warns me to finish off my verse and fly. 

Tu Fu 



90 



THE PRESSGANG 

There, where at eve I sought a bed, 
A pressgang came, recruits to hunt; 

Over the wall the goodman sped. 
And left his wife to bear the brunt. 

Ah me! the cruel Serjeant's rage! 

Ah me! how sadly she anon 
Told all her story's mournful page, — 

How three sons to the war had gone; 

How one had sent a line to say 
That two had been in battle slain: 

He, from the fight had run away, 
But they could ne'er come back again. 



91 

She swore 'twas all the family — 
Except a grandson at the breast; 

His mother too was there, but she 
Was all in rags and tatters drest. 

The crone with age was troubled sore. 
But for herself she'd not think twice 

To journey to the seat of war 

And help to cook the soldiers' rice. 

The night wore on and stopped her talk; 

Then sobs upon my hearing fell 

At dawn when I set forth to walk, 

Only the goodman cried Farewell! 

Tu Fu 



92 



DHYANA^« 

The clear dawn creeps into the convent old, 
The rising sun tips its tall trees with gold, — 
As, darkly, by a winding path I reach 
Dhyana's hall, hidden midst fir and beech. 
Around these hills sweet birds their pleasure 

take, 
Man's heart as free from shadqws as this 

lake; 
Here worldly sounds are hushed, as by a 

spell. 
Save for the booming of the altar bell. 

Cfiang ChHen 
8th cent. A.D. 



93 



IN THE HAREM 

It was the time of flowers, the gate was 

closed ; 
Within an arbour's shade fair girls reposed. 
But though their hearts were full, they 

nothing said. 
Fearing the tell-tale parrot overhead. 

Chu CJiing-yii 



94 



OH STAY 

We shall meet, I believe you, again; 

Yet to part! — such a beautiful night 

Shall friendship and wine ask in vain 

What a head- wind would take as its right? 

Ssit-k'^ung Shu 
8th cent. A.D. 



95 



SPRING SORROWS 

The willow sprays are yellow fringed, 

the grass is gaily green; 
Peach-blooms in wild confusion 

with the perfumed plum are seen; 
The eastern breeze sweeps past me, 

yet my sorrows never go. 

And the lengthening days of spring to me 

mean lengthening days of woe. 

Chia Chih 
A.D. 718 — 772 



96 



SPRING JOYS 

When freshets cease in early spring 

and the river dwindles low, 

I take my staff and wander 

by the banks where wild flowers grow. 

I watch the willow-catkins 

wildly whirled on every side; 

I watch the falling peach-bloom 

lightly floating down the tide. 

Wei Ying-wu 
8th cent. A.D. 



97 



REMEMBRANCES 

In autumn, when the nights are chill, 
I stroll, and croon, and think of thee. 

When dropping pine-cones strew the hill. 
Say, hast thou waking dreams of me? 

Wei Ying-wu 



98 



A PROMISE 

Sweet flowers were blooming all around 

when your last farewell you said, 
And now the opening buds proclaim 

another year has fled. 
'Tis difficult to prophesy 

beyond the present day, 
And the remedy for trouble 

is to sleep it all away. 
I suffer much in body, 

and I long for the old spot. 
But cannot bring myself in pensioned 

idleness to rot. 
You say that you will visit me, 

that you are coming soon : 
'Twixt now and then how often 

shall I see the full-orbed moon? 
Wei Ying-wu 



99 



BUDDHISM 

A shrine, whose eaves in far-off cloudland 

hide: 
I mount, and with the sun stand side by 

side. 
The air is clear; I see wide forests spread 
And mist-crowned heights where Kings of 

old lie dead. 
Scarce o'er my threshold peeps the Southern 

Hill; 
The Wei shrinks through my window to 

a rill 

O thou Pure Faith, had I but known thy 

scope. 
The Golden God had long since been my 

hope! 

Ts'^n Tsan 
8th cent. A.D. 



lOO 



A REASON FAIR 

'Tis night: the grape-juice mantles high 

in cups of gold galore; 
We set to drink, — but now the bugle 

sounds to horse once more. 
Oh marvel not if drunken 

we lie strewed about the plain ; 
How few of all who seek the fight 

shall e'er come back again! 

Wang Han 
8th cent. A.D. 



lOI 



LONELY 

The evening sun slants o'er the village 

street; 
My griefs alas! in solitude are borne; 
Along the road no wayfarers I meet, — 
Naught but the autumn breeze across 

the corn. 

K^ng Wei 
8th cent. A.D. 



I02 



THE WASHERWOMAN'S GRAVE ^' 

The hero ne'er forgot the meal she gave, — 

My tale is of a thousand years ago, — 

And every woodsman knows the time-worn 

grave, 

Though naught remains of dynasties save 

the river's ceaseless flow. 

With votive flower the traveller is seen. 
The while the grief-bird trills his mournful 

lays; 
Around, the grass of spring grows wildly 

green 
Where footprints of the "nobleman" 

were left in bygone days. 

Liu Ctiang-cfking 
8th cent. A.D. 



I03 



AT DAWN 

Drive the young orioles away, 
Nor let them on the branches play; 
Their chirping breaks my slumber through 
And keeps me from my dreams of you. 

Ka Chia-yun 
8th cent. A.D. 



I04 



NOSTALGIA 

'Tis autumn, and I watch the streams 
Which towards my dear home flow; 

I span the distance in my dreams, 
And wake to deeper woe. 

I cannot read to ease my care. 

But solace seek in wine, 
And think of friends all gathered there — 

When will that lot be mine? 

Chang Wei 
8th cent. A.D. 



I05 



AT THE WARS 

See the young wife whose bosom ne'er 

has ached with cruel pain! — 
In gay array she mounts the tower 

when spring comes round again. 
Sudden she sees the willow-trees 

their newest green put on, 
And sighs for her husband far away 

in search of glory gone. 

Wang Ch%ng-ling 
8th cent. A.D. 



io6 



A MESSAGE 

Onwards tonight my storm-beat course I 

steer, 
At dawn these mountains will for ever 

fade; 
Should those I leave behind enquire my 

cheer , 
Tell them, "an icy heart in vase of jade." 
Wang Cliang-ling 



I07 



A GROTTO 

Deep in a darksome grove their Grotto lies, 
And deep the thoughts that now within 

me rise. 
Fronting the door the South Hill looming 

near, 
The forest mirrored in the river clear, 
The bamboo bends beneath last winter's 

snow, 
The court-yard darkens ere the day sinks 

low. 
I seem to pass beyond this world of clay, 
And sit and listen to the spring-bird's lay. 

Tsu Yung 
8th cent. A.D. 



io8 



A RETROSPECT 

Oh this day last year what a party were we 
Pink cheeks and pink peach-blossoms smiled 

upon me ; 
But alas the pink cheeks are now far far 

away, 
Though the peach-blossoms smile as they 

smiled on that day. 

Tsui Hu 
8th or gth cent. A.D. 



I09 



HOPE 

Last eve thou wert a bride, 

This morn thy dream is o'er 

Cast not thy rouge aside, 

He may be thine once more. 

Ch'^ican T^-yu 
A.D. 75g—8i8 



no 



THE WOUNDED FALCON 

Within a ditch beyond my wall 
I saw a falcon headlong fall. 
Bedaubed with mud and racked with pain, 
It beat its wings to rise, in vain ; 
While little boys threw tiles and stones. 
Eager to break the wretch's bones. 

O bird, methinks thy life of late 
Hath amply justified this fate! 
Thy sole delight to kill and steal, 
And then exultingly to wheel, 
Now sailing in the clear blue sky. 
Now on the wild gale sweeping by. 
Scorning thy kind of less degree 
As all unfit to mate with thee. 

But mark how fortune's wheel goes round; 



Ill 

A pellet lays thee on the ground, 
Sore stricken at some vital part, — 
And where is then thy pride of heart? 

What's this to me? — I could not bear 
To see the fallen one lying there. 
I begged its life, and from the brook 
Water to wash its wounds I took. 
Fed it with bits of fish by day. 
At night from foxes kept away. 
My care I knew would naught avail 
For gratitude, that empty tale. 
And so this bird would crouch and hide 
Till want its stimulus applied; 
And I, with no reward to hope. 
Allowed its callousness full scope. 

Last eve the bird showed signs of rage. 
With health renewed, and beat its cage. 
Today it forced a passage through, 
And took its leave, without adieu. 

Good luck hath saved thee, not desert; 



112 

Beware, O bird, of further hurt; 
Beware the archer's deadly tools! — 
'Tis hard to escape the shafts of fools — 
Nor e'er forget the chastening ditch 
That found thee poor, and left thee rich. ^ 

Han Yu 
A.D. 768—824 



113 



HOURS OF IDLENESS 

A little lake of mine I know, 
Where waving weeds and rushes grow, 
And in its depths by day and night 
The water-monsters swarm and fight. 

Ah, how I loved to idle there! 

But now I can no longer bear 

To pass my days in that sweet spot. 

And lost in meditation rot. 

A sense of duty gives me pause. 

Obedient to my Master's ^^ laws; 

Our span of life is all too short 

To waste its hours in empty sport. 

Han Yu 



114 



IN CAMP 

Across the steppes the bitter north winds 

roam, 
At dawn the Tartar moon shines cold and 

bright ; 
My soul relapses into dreams of home, 
Till the loud rappel summons to the fight. 

Han Yii 



115 



MEDITATIONS 

The leaves fall fluttering from the trees, 
And now, responsive to the breeze. 
Rustling with weird uncanny sound. 
Are dancing merrily around. 
On my lone hall the dusk has come 
And there I sit in silence dumb. 
My servant glides into the room 
And with a lamp dispels the gloom. 
He speaks; I give him no reply. 
He proffers food; in vain. Then I 
Move to escape his wondering looks 
And seek a refuge in my books. 
Alas, the men who charm me so 
Perished a thousand years ago! 
And while I muse o'er human fate 



ii6 

My heart grows less and less elate 

"O boy, whose eyes stare from your head, 
"Put up those books and get to bed, 
"And leave me to the dreary naught 
"Of endless, overwhelming thought." 

Han Vu 



117 



DISCONTENT 

To stand upon the river-bank 

and snare the purple fish, 
My net well cast across the stream, 

was all that I could wish. 
Or lie concealed and shoot the geese 

that scream and pass apace. 
And pay my rent and taxes with 

the profits of the chase. 
Then home to peace and happiness, 

with wife and children gay, 

Though clothes be coarse and fare be hard, 

• and earned from day to day. 

But now I read and read, scarce knowing 

what 'tis all about, 
And eager to improve my mind 

I wear my body out. 



ii8 

I draw a snake and give it legs, 

to find I've wasted skill, 
And my hair grows daily whiter 

as I hurry towards the hill. ^^ 
I sit amid the sorrows 

I have brought, on my own head, 
And find myself estranged fi-om all, 

among the living dead. 
I seek to drown my consciousness 

in wine, alas! in vain: 
Oblivion passes quickly 

and my griefs' begin again. 
Old age comes on and yet withholds 

the summons to depart 

So I'll take another bumper 

just to ease my aching heart. 

Han Yu 



119 



HUMANITY 

Oh spare the busy morning fly! 

Spare the mosquitos of the night! 
And if their wicked trade they ply 

Let a partition stop their flight. 

Their span is brief from birth to death; 

Like you they bite their little day; 
And then, with autumn's earliest breath, 

Like you too they are swept away. 

Han Yu 



I20 



NEAERA'S TANGLES 

With flowers on the ground like embroidery 

spread, 
At twenty, the soft glow of wine in my head, 
My white courser's bit-tassels motionless 

« gleam 

While the gold-threaded willow scent sweeps 

o'er the stream. 
Yet until she has smiled all these flowers 

yield no ray, 
When her tresses fall down, the whole 

landscape is gay; 
My hand on her sleeve as I gaze in her 

eyes, 
A kingfisher hairpin^' will soon be my prize. 

Li Ho 
gtk cent. A.D. 



121 



SUMMER DYING 

Whence comes the autumn's whistling blast, 

With flocks of wild geese hurrying past? 

Alas, when wintry breezes burst. 
The lonely traveller hears them first! 

Liu Yii-hsi 
A.D. 772 — 842 



122 



THE ODALISQUE 

A gaily dressed damsel steps forth from 

her bower, 
Bewailing the fate that forbids her to roam; 
In the courtyard she counts up the buds on 

each flower, ^ 
While a dragon-fly flutters and sits on 

her comb. 
Liu Yii-hsi 



123 



DESERTED 

Soaked is her kerchief through with tears, 
yet slumber will not come-, 

In the deep dead of night she hears 

the song and beat of drum. ^^ 

Alas, although his love has gone, 
her beauty lingers yet; 

Sadly she sits till early dawn, 

but never can forget. 

Po Chu-i 
A.D. 772—846 



124 



AT AN OLD PALACE 

Deserted now the Imperial bowers 

Save by some few poor lonely flowers 

One white-haired dame, 

An Emperor's flame, 
Sits down and tells of bygone hours. 

Yiian CMn 
A.D. 779—831 



125 



A CAST-OFF FAVOURITE 

The dewdrops gleam on bright spring flowers 

whose scent is borne along; 
Beneath the moon the palace rings 

with sounds of lute and song. 
It seems that the clepsydra^® 

has been filled up with the sea, 
To make the long long night appear 

an endless night to me! 

Li I 
died A.D. 827 



126 



AT A GRAVE 

An old man lays to rest a much-loved 

son 

By day and night his tears of blood will 

run, 
Albeit when threescore years and ten have 

fled, 
'Tis not a long farewell that he has said. 

Ku '■K'^uang 
8th and gth cent. A.D. 



127 



THE CHASTE WIFE'S REPLY 

Knowing, fair sir, my matrimonial thrall, 
Two pearls thou sentest me, costly withal. 
And I, seeing that Love thy heart possessed, 
I wrapped them coldly in my silken vest. 

For mine is a household of high degree. 
My husband captain in the King's army; 
And one with wit like thine should say, 
"The troth of wives is for ever and ay." 

With thy two pearls I send thee back 

two tears: 
Tears — that we did not meet in earlier 

years ! 
Chang Chi 
8th and gth cent. A.D. 



128 



TASTE 

The landscape which the poet loves 

is that of early May, 
When budding greenness half concealed 

enwraps each willow spray. 
That beautiful embroidery 

the days of summer yield,* 
Appeals to every bumpkin 

who may take his walks afield. 

Vang Chu-yiian 
8th and gtk cent. A.D. 



129 



A LOST LOVE 



37 



Too late, alas ! I came to find 

the lovely spring had fled. 
Yet must I not regret the days 

of youth that now are dead ; 
For though the rosy buds of spring 

the cruel witids have laid, 
Behold the clustering fruit that hangs 

beneath the leafy shade! 
Tu Mu 
A.D. 803—852 



I30 



THE OLD PLACE 

A wilderness alone remains, 

all garden glories gone; 
The river runs unheeded by, 

weeds grow unheeded on. 
Dusk comes, the east wind blows, and birds 

pipe forth a mournful sound; 
Petals, like nymphs from balconies, 

come tumbling to the ground. 
Tu Mu 



131 



THE LAST NIGHT 

Old love would seem as though not love 

today ; 
Spell-bound by thee, my laughter dies away. 
The very wax sheds sympathetic tears 
And gutters sadly down till dawn appears. 

Tu Mu 



132 



LOVERS PARTED 

Across the screen the autumn moon 

stares coldly from the sky; 
With silken fan I sit and flick 

the fireflies sailing by. 
The" night grows colder every hour, — 

it chills me to the heart 
To watch the Spinning Maiden 

from the Herdboy far apart. ^ 
Tu Mu 



133 



THE NIGHT COMES 

'Tis evening, and in restless vein 
At the old mount I slacken rein: 

The glorious day 

Fades fast away 
And naught but twilight glooms remain! 

Li Shang-yin 
A.D. 813—858 



134 



SOUVENIRS 

You ask when I'm coming: alas, not just 

yet 

How the rain filled the pools on that night 

when we met! 
Ah, when shall we ever snufF candles again. 
And recall the glad hours of that evening 

of rain? 
Li Shang-yin 



135 



A SPRING FEAST 

The paddy crops are waxing rich 

upon the Goose- Lake hill; 
The fowls have just now gone to roost, 

the grunting pigs are still; 
The mulberry casts a lengthening shade, — 

the festival is o'er, 
And tipsy revellers are helped 

each to his cottage door. 

Chang Yen 
gth cent. A.D. 



136 



ESCAPE 

Confusion overwhelming me, 

as in a drunken dream, 
I note that spring has fled 

and wander off to hill and stream •, 
With a friendly Buddhist priest I seek 

a respite from the strife 
Arid manifold anomalies 

which go to make up life. 

Li SM 
gth cent. A.D. 



137 



ON HIGHWAYMEN^" 

The rainy mist sweeps gently 

o'er the village by the stream, 
When from the leafy forest glades 

the brigand daggers gleam 

And yet there is no need to fear 

or step from out their way, 
For more than half the world consists 

of bigger rogues than they! 

Li She 



138 



A STORM 

No rain, and lovely flowers bloom around; 
Rain falls, and battered petals strew the 

ground. 
The bees and butterflies flit, one and all, 
To seek the spring beyond my neighbour's 

wall. 

Wang Chia 
gth cent. A.D. 



139 



SUMMER BEGINS 

What time the bamboo casts a deeper shade, 
When birds fill up the afternoon with song , 
When catkins vanish, and when pear-blooms 

fade, — 
Then man is weary and the day is long. 

Chu Sku-chtn^ 
gth cent. A.D. 



140 



LOVE'S SPRINGTIME 

Twin blossoms blooming on 

a single flower! 

Then comes the jealous storm 

with shattering sound. 
Oh could we always feel the 

Spring-God's power, 
No petals scattered on the moss-grown 
ground ! 

Chu Shu-chen 



141 



WHERE ARE THEY? 

Alone I mount to the kiosque which stands 

on the river-bank, and sigh, 
While the moonbeams dance on the tops 

of the waves 

where the waters touch the sky; 
For the lovely scene is to last year's scene 

as like as like can be. 
All but the friends, the much-loved friends, 

who gazed at the moon with me. 

Chao Chia 
gth cent. A.D. 



142 



NEW YEAR'S EVE AT AN INN 

Here in this inn no friend is nigh; 
We sit alone, my lamp and I, 

A thousand miles from love and smiles, 
To see another year pass by. 

Ah me, that ever I was born! 
Is life worth living, thus forlorn? 

Youth, beauty, pass; and yet alas 
It will be spring tomorrow morn. 

Tai Shu-lun 
gth cent. A.D. 



143 



SPRETyE INJURIA FORM^ 

See! fair girls are flocking, through 

corridors bright, 
With music and mirth borne along on 

the breeze 

Come, tell me if she who is favoured 

tonight 
Has eyebrows much longer than these? 

Huang-fu yen 
gth cent. A.D. 



144 



MUSING 

At eve, along the river bank, 

The mist-crowned wavelets lure me on 
To think how all antiquity 

Has floated down the stream and gone ! 

Hsieh Jung 
gth cent. A.D. 



145 

UT MELIUS 

In youth I went to study Tag" 

at its living fountain-head, 
And then lay tipsy half the day 

upon a gilded bed. 
"What oaf is this," the Master cried, 

"content with human lot?" 
And bade me to the world get back 

and call myself a Sot. 
But wherefore seek immortal life 

by means of wondrous pills? 
Noise is not in the market-place, 

nor quiet on the hills. 
The secret of perpetual youth 

is already known to me: 
Accept with philosophic calm 

whatever fate may be. 

Ma Tsu-jan 
gtk cent. A.D. 



146 



MY NEIGHBOUR 

When the Bear athwart was lying 
And the night was just on dying, 
And the moon was all but gone, 
How my thoughts did ramble on! 

Then a sound of music breaks 
From a lute that some one wakes, 
And I know that it is she, 
The sweet maid next door to me. 

And as the strains steal o'er me 
Her moth-eyebrows*^ rise before me. 
And I feel a gentle thrill 
That her fingers must be chill. 



147 

But doors and locks between us 
So effectually screen us 
That I hasten from the street 
And in dreamland pray to meet. 

Hsii An-chen 



148 



THE SEMPSTRESS 

In silk and satin ne'er arrayed, 

My fate to be a lone old maid; 

No handsome bridegroom comes for me 

Dressed in the garb of poverty. 

I learned to sew with skill and grace, 

Though not to paint my brows and face. 

Yet I must ply my golden thread 

For other maids about to wed. 

Ctiin T'ao-yii 
8th or gtk cent. A.D. 



149 

THE TRAVELLER 

The stream glides by, the flower fades, 

and neither feels a sting 
That thus they pass and bear away 

the glory of the spring. 
I dream myself once more at home, 

a thousand miles away; 
The night-jar wakes me with its cry 

ere yet 'tis early day. 
Long months have passed and no word comes 

to tell me of my own; 
With each New Year my scattered locks 

have white and whiter grown, 
Ah my -dear home, if once within 

thy threshold I could be. 
The Five Lakes and their lovely scenes 

might all go hang for me. 

8th or gth cent. A.D. 



15° 



GOLDEN SANDS 

I would not have thee grudge those robes 

which gleam in rich array, 
But I would have thee grudge the hours 

of youth which glide away. 
Go pluck the blooming flower betimes,^ 

lest when thou com'st again 
Alas, upon the withered stem 

no blooming flowers remain! 

' Tu ChHn-niang^^ 
8th or gth cent. A.D. 



151 

WANDERJAHRE 

Roused from the fumes of wine, I hear 

the drum, 
Midst thoughts of home, roll from the 

distant tower. 
While through the trees faint streaks of 

daylight come, 
And the spring passes in a pattering 

shower. 

The tired bird homeward wings its way 

at last; 
Flowers fade and die beneath wild winds 

oppressed. 
What have my wanderings earned these 

ten years past ? 

My wayworn horse is sick of east and west. 

Li Cfiang-fu 
8th or gth cent. A.D. 



152 



MUSIC HATH CHARMS 

Hark to the rapturous melody! 

Her white arm o'er the lute she flings 

To break her lover's reverie 

She strikes a discord on the strings. 

Li Tuan 
8th or gth cent. A.D. 



153 



IN RETIREMENT 

He envies none, the pure and proud 

ex-Minister of State; 
On the Western Lake he shuts himself 

within his bamboo gate. 
He needs no fan to cool his brow, for 

the south wind never lulls. 
While idly his official hat lies 

staring at the gulls. 

Li Chia-yu 
8th or gth cent. A.D. 



154 



THE SPINSTER 

Dim twilight throws a deeper shade 

across the window-screen; 
Alone within a gilded hall 

her tear-drops flow unseen. 
No sound the lonely court-yard stirs; 

the spring is all but through ; 
Around the pear-blooms fade and fall 

and no one comes to woo. 

Liu Fang-pHng 
8th or gth cent. A.D. 



155 



THOUGHTS BY MOONLIGHT 

Bright in the void the mirror moon** 

appears, 

To the hushed music of the heavenly 

spheres, 

Full orbed, while autumn wealth beneath 

her lies. 

On her eternal journey through the skies. 

Oh may we ever walk within the light 

Nor lose the true path in the eclipse of night ! 

Oh let us mount where rays of glory beam 

And purge our grossness in the Silver 

Stream ! *^ 

Chi P'o 
8th or gth cent. A.D. 



156 



CONTEMPLATION 

When my court-yard by the placid moon 

is lit, 
When around me leaves come dropping 

from the trees, 
On the terrace steps, contemplative, I sit, 
The swing-ropes swaying idly in the 

breeze. 

Han Wu 
8th or gth cent. A.D. 



157 



VIEW FROM AN OLD TOWER 

The story of a thousand years 

In one brief morning lies unrolled; 

Though other voices greet the ears, 
'Tis still the moonlit tower of old. 

The heroes of those thousand years? 

Alas! like running water, gone; 
Yet still the fever-blast one hears, 

And still the plum-rain patters on. 

'Twas here ambition marched sublime — 
An empty fame scarce marks the spot; 

Away ! for I will never climb 

To see flowers bloom and man forgot. 

Anon 
8th and gth cent. A.D. 



158 



HOMEWARD 

No letters to the frontier come, 

The winter softens into spring 

I tremble as I draw near home, 

And dare not ask what news you bring. 

Li Pin 
cent. A.D. 



159 



AN OATH 

They swore the Huns should perish: 

they would die if needs they must 

And now five thousand, sable-clad, 

have bit the Tartar dust. 
Along the river-bank their bones 

lie scattered where they may, 
But still their forms in dreams arise 

to fair ones far away. 

Ch^tn Tao 
gth and loth cent. A.D. 



i6o 



TO AN ABSENT FAIR ONE 

After parting, dreams possessed me 

and I wandered you know where, 
And we sat in the verandah 

and you sang . the sweet old air. 
Then I woke, with no one near me 

save the moon still shining on, 
And lighting up dead petals 

which like you have passed and gone. 

Chang Pi 
loth cent. A.D. 



i6i 



DISILLUSIONED 

For ten long years I plodded through 

the vale of lust and strife, 
Then through my dreams there flashed a ray 

of the old sweet peaceful life 

No scarlet-tasselled hat of state 

can vie with soft repose; 
Grand mansions do not taste the joys 

that the poor man's cabin knows. 
I hate the threatening clash of arms 

when fierce retainers throng, 
I loathe the drunkard's revels and 

the sound of fife and song; 
But I love to seek a quiet nook, and 

some old volume bring 
Where I can see the wild flowers bloom 
and hear the birds in spring. 

Cli^&n Po 
loth cent. A.D. 



l62 



'TWIXT HEAVEN AND EARTH *« 

Upon this tall pagoda's peak 

My hands can nigh the stars enclose-, 
I dare not raise my voice to speak, 

For fear of startling God's repose. 

Yang I 
A.D. 5>7^ — 10 so 



i63 

CONSOLATION 

The balmy breath of spring must fail 

to reach that distant spot 
Where early wild-flowers do not bloom 

to cheer my exile's lot. 
See how the oranges still hang 

amid the clinging snow, 
And shoots and buds, benumbed by cold, 

around reluctant grow! 
At night your heart is with your home 

when you hear the wild goose cry. 
And your sadness ever deepens 

as the smiling months go by. 
Yet when you think of happy hours 

at Loyang in the past. 
Grieve not that spring is late, but joy 

that spring is yours at last. 

Ou-yang Hsiu 
A.D. 1007 — 1072 



164 



A STRUGGLE 

Fair flowers from above in my goblet are 

shining, 
And add by reflection an infinite zest; 
Through two generations I've lived, 

unrepining. 
While four mighty rulers have sunk to 

their rest. 
My body in health has done nothing to 

spite me, 
And sweet are the moments which pass 

o'er my head ; 
But now, with this wine and these flowers 

to delight me, 
How shall I keep sober and get home 

to bed? 

Shao Yung 
A.D. ion — 1072 



i65 



WAITING 

'Tis the festival of Yellow Plums! 

the rain unceasing pours, 
And -^croaking bullfrogs hoarsely wake 

the echoes out of doors. 
I sit and wait for him in vain, 

while midnight hours go by, 
And push about the chessmen 

till the lamp- wick sinks to die. 

, Ssu-ma Kuang 
A.D. loig — 1086 



1 66 

ANNUAL WORSHIP AT TOMBS 

The peach and plum trees smile with flowers 

this famous day of spring, 
And country graveyards round about 

with lamentations ring. 
Thunder has startled insect life 

and roused the gnats and bees, 
A gentle rain has urged the crops 

and soothed the flowers and trees — 
Perhaps on this side lie the bones 

of a wretch whom no one knows; 
On that, the sacred ashes 

of a patriot repose. 
But who across the centuries 

can hope to mark each spot 
Where fool or hero, joined in death, 

beneath the brambles rot? 

Huang T^ing-chien 
A.D. 1050 — mo 



i67 



A WHITE NIGHT 

The incense-stick is burnt to ash, 

the water-clock is stilled, 
The midnight breeze blows sharply by 

and all around is chilled. 
Yet I am kept from slumber 

by the beauty of the spring : 
Sweet shapes of flowers across the blind 

the quivering moonbeams fling ! 

Wang An-shih 
A.D. 1 02 1 — 1086 



i68 



INSOUCIANCE 

I wander north, I wander south, 

I rest me where I please 

See how the river-banks are nipped 

beneath the autumn breeze! 
Yet what care I if autumn blasts 

the riv.er-banks lay bare? 
The loss of hue to river-banks 

is the river-banks' affair. 

CK'eng Hao 
A.D. 1032 — 1085 



169 



SPRING FANCIES 

When clouds are thin, and the wind is light, 

about the noontide hour, 
I cross the stream, through willow paths 

with all around in flower. 
The world knows not my inmost thoughts 

which make me seem a fool; 
I'm taken for a truant boy 

escaped from tedious school. 
Ch^eng Hao 



170 



SPRING NIGHTS 

One half-hour of a night in spring 

is worth a thousand taels, 
When the clear sweet scent of flowers is felt 

and the moon her lustre pales ; 
When mellowed sounds of song and flute 

are borne along the breeze, 
And through the stilly scene the swing 

sounds swishing from the trees. 

Su Skih 
A.D. 1036 — zioi 



171 



WHIGS AND TORIES*^ 

Thickly o'er the jasper terrace 

flower shadows play; 
In vain I call my garden boy 

to sweep them all away. 
They vanish when the sun sets 

in the west, but very soon 
They spring to giddy life again 

beneath the rising moon! 

Su Shih 



172 

SWINGING *« 

Two green silk ropes, with painted stand, 

from heights aerial swing. 
And there outside the house a maid 

disports herself in spring. 
Along the ground her blood-red skirts 

all swiftly swishing fly. 
As though to bear her off to be 

an angel in the sky. 
Strewed thick with fluttering almond-blooms 

the painted stand is seen; 
The embroidered ropes flit to and fro 

amid the willow green. 
Then when she stops and out she springs 

to stand with downcast eyes. 
You think she is some angel 

just now banished from the skies. 

Hung Chueh-fan 
nth and 12th cent. A.D. 



173 



SUMMER 

When ducklings seek the puddles, mostly 

dry, 
In the hot plum-time, ,with its changeful sky, 
'Tis then in shady artdur we carouse, -/(m t't-J^ t , 
And strip the golden loquat from the 

-^^^"^ boughs. 

Tai Fu-ku 
J 2th and 13th cent. A.D. 



174 



AT A PARK GATE 

'Tis closed ! — lest trampling footsteps mar 

the glory of the green. 
Time after time we knock and knock; 

no janitor is seen. 
Yet bolts and bars can't quite shut in 

the spring-time's beauteous pall: 
A pink-flowered almond-spray peeps out 

athwart the envious wall! 

Yeh Shih 
A.D. 1 1 so — I22S 



175 



A MOUNTAIN BROOK 



One draught for my noetic soul I take, 
Unconscious river, ere thou sflid'st away 
To serve the orgies of the Western Lake, 
And be no more the pure stream of today. 

Lm Hung 
1 2th cent. A.D. 



176 



THE THIRD MOON 

In May flowers fade, and others come 

to bloom among the leaves, 
While all day long the nesting swallow 

flits around the eaves. 
The night-jar cries half through the night 

until the blood flows fast. 
Ah vainly hoping to recall the 

spring that now is past! 

Wang Feng-yuan 
12th cent. A.D. 



177 



WORSHIP, AND AFTER 



49 



The northern and the southern hills 

are one large burying-ground, 
And all is life and bustle there 

when the sacred day comes round. 
Burnt paper cash^ like butterflies, 

fly fluttering far and wide, 
While mourners' robes with tears of blood 

a crimson hue are dyed. 
The sun sets, and the red fox crouches 

down beside the tomb; 
Night comes, and youths and maidens laugh 

where lamps light up the gloom. 
Let him, whose fortune brings him wine, 

get tipsy while he may; 
For no man, when the long night comes, 

can take one drop away! 

Kao Chu-nien 
I2th cent. A.D. 



178 



AT HIS CLUB 

Long past midnight the wife hears 

the goatsucker's cry, 
And rises to see that the 

silkworms are fed : 
Alas! there's the moon shining 

low in the sky, 
But her husband has not yet 

come back to his bed. 

Hsieh Fang-te 
A.D. 1226— i28g 



179 



AT HIS BOOKS 

Shadows of pairing sparrows cross his 

book, 

Of poplar catkins, dropping overhead 

The weary student from his window-nook 
Looks up to find that spring is long 

since dead. 

Yeh Li 
13th cent. A.D. 



i8o 



AT A MOUNTAIN MONASTERY 

I mounted when the cock had just begun, 
And reached the convent ere the bells 

were done. 
A gentle zephyr whispered o'er the lawn; 
Behind the wood the moon gave way to 

dawn. 
And in this pure sweet solitude I lay, 
Stretching my limbs out to await the day. 
No sound along the willow pathway dim 
Save the soft echo of the bonzes' hymn. 

Liu Chi 
A.D. 1311—1375 



i8i 



OMNES EODEM 

A centenarian 'mongst men 
Is rare; and if one comes, what then? 
The mightiest heroes of the past 
Upon the hillside sleep at last. 

Liu Chi 



l82 

APOLOGIA 

In vain hands bent on sacrifice 

or clasped in prayer we see; 
The ways of God are not exactly 

what those ways should be. 
The swindler and the ruffian 

lead pleasant lives enough, 
While judgments overtake the good 

and many a sharp rebuff. 
The swaggering bully stalks along 

as blithely as you please, 
While those who never miss their prayers 

are martyrs to disease. 
And if great God Almighty fails 

to keep the balance true, 
What can we hope that paltry 

mortal magistrates will do? 

Hsieh Chin 
A.D. is6g—i4is 



i83 



TO HER LOVER 

The tide in the river beginning to rise, 
Near the sad hour of parting, brings tears 

to our eyes; 
Alas that these furlongs of willow-strings 

gay 
Cannot hold fast the boat that will soon 

be away! 

Chao Ts'ai-chi^'^ 
i^th cent. A.D. 



1 84 

TO HIS COFFIN 

An eternal home awaits me, 

shall I hesitate to go? 
Or struggle for a few more hours 

of fleeting life below? 
A home, wherein the clash of arms 

I can never hear again! 
And shall I strive to linger 

in this thorny world of pain ? 
The breeze will soon blow cool o'er me, 

and the bright moon shine o'erhead, 
When blended with the gems of earth 

I lie in my last bed. 
My pen and ink shall go with me 

inside my funeral hearse, 
So that if I've leisure "over there" 

I may soothe my soul with verse. 

Fang Shu-shao 
15th cent. A.D. 



i85 

TO GENERAL MAO 

Southward, in all the panoply 

of cruel war arrayed, 
See, Our heroic general points 

and waves his glittering blade! 
Across the hills and streams 

the lizard-drums" terrific roll, 
While glint of myriad banners 

flashes high from pole to pole 

Go, scion of the Unicorn, 

and prove thy heavenly birth. 
And crush to all eternity 

these insects of the earth; 
And when thou com'st, a conqueror, 

from those wild barbarian lands. 
We will unhitch thy war-cloak 

with Our own Imperial hands! 

Chu Hou-tsung^^ 
A.D. 1507 — 1566 



i86 



TO AN ABSENT LOVER 

Your notes on paper rare to see, 

Two flying joy-birds bear; 
Be like the birds and fly to me, 

Not like the paper rare! 

Chao Li-hua ^^, 
1 6th cent. A.D. 



i87 



INWARD LIGHT 

With wine and flowers we chase the hours, 

In one eternal spring; 
No moon, no light, to cheer the night, 

Thyself that ray must bring. 

P^u Sung-ling 
Born A.D. 1622 



i88 



AN AGNOSTIC 

You ask me why I greet the priest 

But not his God; 
The God sits mute, the man at least 

Returns my nod. 

Anon 
1 8th cent. A.D. 



i89 



A SCOFFER 

I've ever thought it passing odd 
How all men reverence some God, 
And wear their lives out for his sake 
And bow their heads until they ache. 
'Tis clear to me the Gods are made 

Of the same stuff as wind or shade 

Ah, if they came to every caller, 
I'd be the very loudest bawler! 

Yiian Met 
A.D. lyis—iygj 



190 



AN IMPROMPTU^* 

Though the torrent be swift, it can ne'er 

carry off 
the moonbeam that lights up its bed; 
Though the mountain be high, yet it 

cannot arrest 
the fast-flying cloud overhead. 

Lu ChU'cfii 
1 8th cent. A.D. 



igi 



THE DIVINEST OF ALL THINGS 

Man is indeed of heavenly birth, 

Though seeming earthy of the earth; 

The sky is but a denser pall 

Of the thin air that covers all. 

Just as this air, so is that sky; 

Why call this low, and call that high? 

The dewdrop sparkles in the cup — 
Note how the eager flowers spring up; 
Confine and crib them in a room, 
They fade and find an early doom. 
So 'tis that at our very feet 
The earth and the empyrean meet. 



192 

The babe at birth points heavenward too, 

Enveloped by the eternal blue; 

As fishes in the water bide, 

So heaven surrounds on every side; 

Yet men sin on, because they say 

Great God in heaven is far away. 

Chao I 
A.D. i'/2'j — 18 1 4 



'93 



ADVICE TO GIRLS" 

Trust not spring clouds, trust not to flowers : 

The butterfly is caught; ^ 
Oh snatch no passing joy in hours 

Of pleasure wrongly sought! 

A mien severe and eyes that freeze 

Become the future bride; 
No whispering underneath the trees 

Ere yet the knot be tied. 

'Tis heaven on earth when woman wed 

Leans on her husband's arm; 
Beauty, like flowers, is quickly shed: 
Oh envy not its charm ! 

Chang Win-fao 
1 8th cent. A.D. 
13 



194 



INTEGER VIT^ 

Riches and rank — a morning dream in 

spring; 
Fame — but an unsubstantial cloud above ; 
Thy very body is not thine for ay; 
Hate is the end of love. 

Fix not a golden collar on thy neck; 
Be not with chain of jade in service bound ; 
Pure heart and few desires: earth's dust 

shake off — 
And happiness is found. 

Anon 
1 8th cent. A.D. 



195 



OPPORTUNITY 

The cup's in the hand, 

seize the hour ere 'tis fled; 
How seldom in life 

is the moon overhead! 

Anon 



196 



CHANCE 

You may set with all care, 

but the flow 'ret will fade, 
While the chance-planted willow-twig 

grows into shade. 

Anon 



197 



A LAMENT 

O ruthless Fate! 

O cruel boon! 
To meet so late 

And part so soon. 



Anon 



NOTES 



I. The Odes are some 300 of the old national ballads of 
China, collected and edited by Confucius, B.C. 551 — 479. 
They now form part of the Confucian Canon, and must be 
studied by all candidates for an official career. It is upon 
these Odes that the poetry of China has been based. The 
rhymes found therein are still the only recognised rhymes, 
although many of them are no longer rhymes to the ear. It 
is as though our writers of verse should rhyme "sweet" with 
"root," on the ground that Chaucer did so. Blank verse is 
unknown. 

As to metre, the Chinese have used measures of different 
lengths, varying from one foot only to eleven feet and even 
more to the line. Each foot being a monosyllabic word there 
is no difficulty in seeing that the scansion is correct. The 
Odes are mostly written in lines of four feet ; modern poetry 
always in lines of five or seven feet. 

For poetical purposes all the characters in the language 
are ranged under two tones, as flats and sharps. These oc- 
cupy certain fixed places, just as dactyls and spondees occupy 
fixed places in the construction of Latin verse. Thus in a 
stanza of the ordinary five-character length the following tonal 
arrangement must appear: — 



Sharp sharp flat flat sharp 
Flat fiat sharp sharp flat ' 
Flat flat flat sharp sharp 
Sharp sharp sharp flat flat 



200 

2. This "woven stuff" is supposed to have been stamped 
pieces of linen, used as a circulating medium before the in- 
troduction of the bank-note. 

3. The dove is very fond of mulberries, but is said to 
become intoxicated by them. 

4. Son of the founder of the Han dynasty, to the throne 
of which he succeeded in B.C. 180. 

5. Liu Ch'^6 succeeded his father as sixth Emperor of the 
great Han dynasty. 

6. This poem records the loss of a favourite concubine. 

7. This lady was for a long time the chief favourite of 
the tenth Emperor of the Han dynasty. When at length 
superseded, she forwarded to his Majesty a white silk fan 
upon which she had written these farewell lines. 

8. A prince of the 6* cent. B.C., who studied the black 
art to such purpose that he rode up to heaven on the back 
of a crane. See "Home Longings,'' p. 57. 

9. Drugs of immortality, coupled with alchemistic researches, 
occupied for many centuries the attention of Taoist philo- 
sophers. 

10. The Chinese Hades. 

11. A descendant of Confucius in the 20* generation. 

12. These last four lines have been imitated by several 
poets, notably by Chang Chiu-ling who wrote as follows: 

Since my lord left — ah me^ unhafpy hour I — 
The half-span web hangs idly in my bower; 
My heart is like the full moon^ full of fains^ 
Save that Uis always full and never wanes. 



20I 

13- Younger brother of the first Emperor of the Wei dyn- 
asty, to whom he became an object of suspicion. These lines 
were delivered impromptu in response to an order from his 
Majesty to compose a poem while taking seven steps. 

14. A fabled ruler, said to dwell upon the K'^un-lun range. 

15. On one occasion the poet Hsieh Tao-hSng wrote the 
following lines: — 

A week in the spring to the exile appears 

Like an absence from home of a couple of years. 

Thereupon a "southerner" who was present sneered and 
cried out "That is shallow stuff!" immediately producing the 
couplet in the text. 

16. This term includes the rulers under the Golden Age, 
Confucius, Mencius, and any other divinely-inspired teacher 
of the cardinal virtues. 

17. The Yellow-Crane Kiosque still stands on the banks 
of the Yang-tze, the River par excellence., near its junction 
with the Han river at Wu-ch'^ang Fu in Hupeh. See note 8. 
Li Po at one time thought of writing a poem on this theme, 
but he gave up the idea so soon as he had read the lines 
by Ts%i Hao. 

18. An impromptu, at the age of ten. 

19. See notes 8 and 17. 

20. A.D. 320 — 385. On one occasion, when roaming in 
disguise at the spot mentioned in the text, he fell in with 
the poet Yiian Hung, and became thereafter his attached friend 
and patron. 

21. Chinese fable says that the moon is inhabited by a 
huge toad which occasionally swallows it; hence eclipses. 



202 

Also that there are groves of cassias in the moon, and a hare 
visible to the naked eye, engaged in preparing the drug of 
immortality. The allusion to the "suns" refers to a story of 
the legendary archer, Hou I, who when a number of false 
suns appeared in the sky, to the great detriment of the crops, 
shot at and destroyed them with his arrows. 

22. One fine evening, the Emperor Ming Huang who was 
enjoying himself with his favourite lady in the palace grounds, 
called for Li Po to commemorate the scene in verse. After 
some delay the poet arrived^ supported between two eunuchs. 
"Please your Majesty," he said, "I have been drinking with 
"the Prince and he has made me drunlc, but I will do my 
"best." Thereupon two of the ladies of the harem held up 
in front of him a. pink silk screen, and in a very short time 
he had thrown off no less than ten eight-line stanzas, of 
which the one in the text is a specimen. 

23. The poet, having incurred the displeasure of the famous 
favourite, Yang Kuei-fei, was forced to go into exile. 

.24. After penning these lines on board a, pleasure-boat 
at night, the poet is said to have been drowned by falling 
over the side in a drunken effort to embrace the reflection 
of the moon. 

25. A famous poet of the 2"^ cent. B.C. He ran away 
with a beautiful widow and was driven to keep ». tavern, 
until the father-in-law relented. Tu Fu hints that he would 
like himself to meet a similar partner. 

26. Meaning that he is now doubtful whether he should 
not at once embrace a hermit's life. 

27. A specimen of political allegory. The "lonely plant" 
refers to a virtuous statesman for whom the time is out of 
joint. The "mango-bird" is a worthless politician in power. 
The "ferry-boat" is the Ship of State. 



203 

28. A state of mental abstraction, by recourse to which 
the Buddhist gradually shakes off all desire for sublunary 
existence. In every monastery there is a, building specially 
set apart for this purpose, and there the priests may be seen 
sitting for hours together with their eyes closed. 

29. This poem refers to the great general Han Hsin of 
the 2">d cent. B.C., who in his poverty-stricken days was 
saved from starving by a kindly washerwoman. Later on he 
remembered and provided for his benefactress. The "grief- 
bird" is the goatsucker or nightjar. The "nobleman'' was an 
epithet used by the washerwoman to Han Hsin, as though 
by a presentiment of his future greatness. 

30. In experience of the ups and downs of life. 

31. Confucius. 

32. The Chinese prefer hillsides for their burying-grounds. 

33. One of the gold , hairpins delicately inlaid with king- 
fisher feathers, much worn by Chinese ladies. 

34.. Having nothing better to do. The dragon-fly strikes 
a note of loneliness. 

35. She hears from a distance the sound of revels in which 
she once joined as chief favourite. 

36. Water-clocks were known to the Chinese at a very 
early period, and are still to be seen in China. 

37. When the poet was ordered to a distant post, he said 
to his fiancee, "Within ten years I shall be Governor. If I 
"do not return within that time, marry whomsoever you please." 
He came back at the end of fourteen years to find her married 
and the mother of three children. 

38. Referring to two stars which are separated by the 
Milky Way, except on the 7* night of the 7* moon in 



204 

each year, when magpies form a bridge for the Damsel to 
pass over to her lover. 

39. This famous poet having been caught by brigands was 
ordered to give a specimen of his art. The impromptu in the 
text earned his immediate release. 

40. A poetess. 

41. Tao means "The Way" and refers originally to the 
teaching of the philosopher Lao Tzii who flourished some 
seven centuries B.C. It here signifies the arts of prolonging 
life, of transmutation of metals, etc., which came to be as- 
sociated with Lao Tzu's doctrines. 

42. Resembling the delicately curved eye-markings of the 
silkworm moth. 

43. A poetess. 

44. Referring to the polished discs of metal anciently used ■ 
as mirrors by the Chinese. 

45. The Milky Way. 

46. The story runs that as a child the poet was unable 
to speak, until one day, being carried up to the top of a 
pagoda, he burst out with the lines in the text. 

47. Allegorical. The "flower shadows" stand for evil poli- 
ticians who held their own against the brooms of virtuous 
statesmen, but disappeared at the death of their patron, the 
Emperor Shen Tsung, in 1086, to reappear upon the death 
of his successor. 

48. Chinese girls stand upon the seat of the swing. 

49. Referring to the annual spring worship at the tombs 
of ancestors. See also p. 166. 

50. A poetess-Anonyma. 



205 

51. Covered with lizard-skin. 

52. Eleventh Emperor of the Ming dynasty. General Mao 
crushed a serious revolt in Annam, 1539 — 1541, but later on 
fell into disfavour and was cashiered. 

53. A poetess-Anonyma. Chinese note-paper is covered 
with pictures of various designs, such as the birds in the text. 

54. These lines were uttered by the poet, when lying tipsy 
in the high road, to the Prefect who happened to be passing 
and who was rating him for unseemly behaviour. "You are 
the Prefect," he cried, "that is your business; I am 'drunk, 
that is my business." 

55. Written after perusing the work on the duties of women 
by Pan Chao, the famous female historian of the i^' cent. A.D. 



INDEX TO POETS 



Chang Chi ^S ^ ^^7 

Chang Chiu-ling gg ;^ ^ 48 

Chang Pi §i # 160 

Chang Wei ^ f| 104 

Chang Wen-t=ao 5| 59 1^ ^93 

Chang Yen gg {g 135 

Ch'ang Chien '^ ^ 92 

Chao Chia ^ ^ 141 

Chao I ^ S 191 

Chao Li-hua ^ ^ p 186 

Cha6 Ts=ai-chi ^ ^ ^ 183 

Ch^an Po ^ :^ 161 

Ch'en T'ao ^ |^ i59 

Ch'en Tzii-ang |^ -^ ^ 43 

Ch'eng Hao jg f| 168 



208 



# 



Chi P'o ^:f|» iss 
Chia Chih ^ 3§ 95 
Chiang Yen ;^ ;?§ 38 
Ch^in T'^ao-yii ^ ^ 3E 148 
Chu Ch^ing-yii :^ ^ ^ 93 
Chu Hou-tsung :^ J^ ^Jl 18s 
Chu Shu-chen :^ ^ ^ 139 
Ch'^iian Te-yu ^ ^ ^ 109 
Fang Shu-shao ^ ;^ ^P 184 
Fu Mi '^ J^ 28 
Han Wu ^ j^ 156 
Han Yu ^ ^ no 
Ho Chih-chang ^ ^ ^ 46 
Hsiao Yen ^ ^Jj 40 
Hsieh Chin ^^182 
Hsieh Fang-te Hj" ^ ^ 178 
Hsieh Jung ^ ^ 144 
Hsu An-chen ^ ^ ^ 146 
Hsu Kan ^ # 25 
Huang-fu Jen ^ if # 143 



209 

Huang T'^ing-chien ^ ^ ^ i66 
Hung Chiieh-fan *^ -^ ^ 172 
Ka Chia-yiin ^ ^ j^ ^°3 
Kao Chii-nien ^^ ^ ^P^ '77 
Keng Wei ;|)C'^$ 10 1 
Ku K'uang ^ <£ 126 

K^ng Jung :fL S4 23 

Li Ch=ang-fu ^ ^ # 151 

Li Chia-yu ^ ^ j^ 153 

Li Ho ^^ 120 

Lil ^^ I2S 

Li Pin ^^ 158 

Li Po ^ ^ S8 

Li Shang-yin ^ j^ ^ i33 

Li She ^'^ 136 

Li Shih-chih ^ j^ :^ 52 

Li Tuan ^Jl^ 152 

Lin Hung ^'^ 17S 

Liu Ch'ang-ch'ing MM^ ^°^ 
Liu Ch^e fij tie 17 



14 



2IO 



Liu Chi f)J S 1 80 
Liu Fang-p^ing flj :J^ 2p 154 
Liu Heng f(J g iS 
Liu Yii-hsi MM^ ^21 
Lu Chu-ch'i 1^ ft i^ "90 
Ma Tzii-jan ,|| g ^ i45 
Mei Sheng ;^ ^ 13 
Meng Hao-jan ^ 1^ ^ 49 
Odes, The U ^ i 
Ou-yang Hsiu P; ^ # 163 
Pan, The Lady ^^^M '9 
Pao Chao ^f^ 36 
Po Chii-i Q ^ ^ 123 
P^u Sung-ling 'M#^ 187 
Shao Yung gJJ || 164 
Ssii-k'ung Shu ^ ^ Bi 94 
Ssu-ma Kuang ^ ,% ^ 165 
Su Shih ^^ 170 
Sung Chih-wen tIc ^ 59 47 
Sung Yii ;^5 II 



21 I 



Tai Fu-ku ^^ -^ 173 

Tai Shu-lun ^ ;#J 'f^ 142 

T'ao Ch^ien |^ j^ 32 

Ts^ao Chih "if ^ 27 

Ts'^en Ts^an ^ ^ 99 

Tsu Yung |g. ^< 107 

Ts^ii Hao -g II 57 

Ts'ui Hu H ^ 108 

Ts'ui T'u -g ^ 149 

Tu Ch'iu-niang ^i ^ ^ 'So 

Tu Fu ^ -^ 80 

Tu Mu i^ i^ 129 

Wang An-shih 3E ^ -S "^7 

Wang Ch'ang-ling ^ |^ ^ 105 

Wang Chi ^ ^ 41 

Wang Chia ^ ^ 138 

Wang Feng-yuan 3E ^ 1^ "7^ 

Wang Han ^ ^ 100 

Wang Po ^ ^ 42 

Wang Wei 3E H 53 



212 



Wei Ying-vm ^ ^ ^ 9^ 
Yang Chu-yiian ^ g jj^^ 128 
Yang I ^ -^ 162 
Yeh Li ^ ^ 179 
Yeh Shih |^ j|g 174 
Yiian Chen 7C ^ 124 
Yiian Mei ^ ;1v^ 189 



By the same Author: 

A Chinese-English Dictionary, ryl 4'°, pp. XLVI 

and 141 5 
Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, 2 

vols. cr. 8™. 
Gems of Chinese Literature 
Historic China and other Sketches 
Chuang Tzu, — Mystic, Moralist, aud Social 

Reformer 
Chinese Sketches 

Chinese without a Teacher, 3"^ edition 
Record of the Buddhistic Kingdoms 
Glossary of Reference on the Far East, 2""* 

edition 
Remains of Lao Tz'S, 
Synoptical Studies in Chinese Character 
Handbook of the Swatow Dialect 
From Swatow to Canton Overland 
Dictionary of Colloquial Idioms 
San Tzu Ching and CJ^ien Tzu Wen, metrically 

translated 
A Chinese Biographical Dictionary, ryl 8™, 

pp. XII and 1022 
Catalogue of the Wade Library, Cambridge 




PRINTED BY E. J. BRILL, LgYDEN (HOLLAND).
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